Diahann Carroll: Setting the Record Straight About Her Life, Her Loves And Her Breast Cancer

By Karu F. Daniels, BlackVoices.com

When it comes to soul surviving, very few entertainers know it like Diahann Carroll knows.

The Bronx, New York born actress is a diva of the highest degree – but don't let her hear you say that. It's a term, according to the August 2008 edition of Vogue, the Tony and Golden Globe Award winner equates to "trash."

In her new memoir, 'The Legs Are The Last To Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying, and Other Things I Learned the Hard Way' (Amistad/Harper Collins), Carroll and all of her splendid grandiosity is on full display, warts and all. And that turns out to be a good thing.

Having starred in the first network sitcom – 'Julia' – revolving around a black woman in 1960s, Carroll went on to gain even more notoriety for playing "the first black 'bitch' in prime-time" in the 1980s.

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In this photo provided by Kraft Foods, Spice Girl "Mel B" poses for a photo wearing a T-shirt she designed based on the classic pink ribbon used for breast cancer awareness, after a fashion show and launch of "Pose for the Cure" web site to help Kraft Foods raise money for the 'Susan G. Komen for the Cure' fight against breast cancer in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. The shirt is for sale on the web site and the net proceeds will benefit the foundation. (AP Photo/Kraft Foods, Ray Stubblebine) **NO SALES**

In this undated image released by Oxfam Tuesday Sept. 23, 2008, British singer Mel B participates in the 'In My Name' global campaign calling for action against poverty and demanding world leaders keep their promises on millennium development goals. (AP Photo/Oxfam, HO) ** NO SALES **

In this photo provided by Kraft Foods, Spice Girl Mel B, left, serves as the emcee at a fashion show and launch of "Pose for the Cure" web site to help Kraft Foods raise money for the 'Susan G. Komen for the Cure' fight against breast cancer in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. Mel B wears a T-shirt she designed based on the classic pink ribbon used for breast cancer awareness. The shirt is for sale on the web site and the net proceeds will benefit the foundation. The woman at right is unidentified. (AP Photo/Kraft Foods, Ray Stubblebine) **NO SALES**

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: TV personality and designer Khloe Kardashian and Olympic-level swimmer and model Amanda Beard (R) pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Ultimo Scottish designer lingerie brand founder Michelle Mone (L) and pop singer Melanie Brown pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown poses backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown and Olympic-level swimmer and model Amanda Beard (R) pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown and singer Aubrey O'Day (R) poses backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown, Olympic-level swimmer and model Amanda Beard, singer Aubrey O'Day and TV personality and designer Khloe Kardashian pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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The first topic of discussion was digital media, the Internet and emailing, something the sophisticated lady admits to not being too familiar with. "I'm for it because it makes the world move faster but maybe we're just a little bit too damn fast with everything," she stated, raising her left eyebrow in signature style to punctuate her point.

"Maybe we need to slow down a little bit and give ourselves a chance to refine something," she added.

When it comes to her new book, where she unflinchingly chronicles her life -- personally and professionally -- Carroll admitted to having to be pulled into the 21st century by her editor Dawn Davis to complete the project, which was six years in the making.

"There's more about it to tell, and each situation there's more about it to tell," she revealed of the page-turning tome that details her tumultuous affair with fellow black Hollywood trailblazer Sidney Poitier, along with other well-guarded nuggets from the golden days of entertainment. "But today you guys are in such a hurry that you want to hear what it was, and to help you to evaluate it on the page is something that I don't think was of interest to anyone. [The goal was to] just tell the story."

And tell it she does.

It's been over 20 years since the Academy Award nominee put out her first memoir –during the height of a very successful run on the mega-successful TV show, 'Dynasty.' "The purpose of this [book] is to set the record the straight," she said, then adding, "I mean, how much longer do I have?"

"I think there's some misconceptions, and some of them have to do with my personal life," she furthered. "I hope that everyone understands that men are not questioned about their personal lives as much as women. So if there was a man who was a famous person and he and I were involved, the questions about that involvement are going to be directed towards me not towards him. They'll ask him about his career and his whatever but not his personal life. Very seldom, they may say 'How many children do you have?' and that's it."

"I think the business of setting the record straight is kind of timeless," she continued.

One area of the book which will touch the hearts and souls of many, is the harrowing chapter title "Sickness and Health," where Carroll shares the story of her 1998 breast cancer diagnosis, the ending of her last marriage, and how she sought unconventional treatment in fighting the deadly disease.

"As soon as you hear 'cancer,' that it's in your body, the first thing you think of is death -- there's a possibility of death," she confided. "And you never had to think of anything in that way before. It's impossible to take it in all at once, it is impossible. If I'm truly dying what do I do? But you really can't attack cancer like that. You cannot feel that it is final, you have to deal with it one step at a time."

October is nationally recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Carroll has become a staunch activist for the many causes related to education, screening and treatment for the disease, which affects millions of women.

"As I started going to speaking engagements, I had women come over to me and say, 'I wanted to see you and come over today because if you can have breast cancer I know that I can. And I better have a mammogram, because I never had one.' And I thought 'Okay, I'm needed here,'" she said about her staying involved in the cause.

"I talk about my own experience, and about the need for prevention," she writes in 'The Legs...' "The whole world of cancer needs demystifying, particularly in lower-income communities."

Throughout the book, Carroll addresses aging and the art of forgiveness. Her fluid style of prose is so honest that with each flaw she admits to, it feels as if she's asking for it forgiveness herself.

"I think it made some of the things in my personality stronger," she responded when asked whether or not her bout with breast cancer helped her embrace forgiveness. "Whatever it is ... it was a healing for me."